


Ponytail

by PAPERHATDUDE



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Edward is crime, Harleen is pre-Joker, Jonathan is an Arkham Psychiatrist, M/M, its 11:29 cut me some slack, mostly about hair, not very shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 01:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13330251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PAPERHATDUDE/pseuds/PAPERHATDUDE
Summary: Jonathan is Edwards most recent psychiatrist. Some thoughts and hairstyles.





	Ponytail

Beep

Beep

Beep

The alarm on his watch begins to ring, breaking the silence of his office. Letting out a deep breath Jonathan Crane cricks his neck, searching around for a file. Pulling it out of a filing cabinet beneath his desk, he gathers a clipboard and a pen and heads out of his office.

He thinks as he walks, navigating the long winding corridors of Arkham Asylum. His progress with Edward Nygma, self dubbed ‘The Riddler’ has been slow, to say the least. Getting past his enormous ego to obtain any information at all is difficult, nigh impossible. Keeping personal details a secret is necessary when one was a criminal, and Edward seems to have perfected it to an art form.

Jonathan stops to get a cup of coffee from the break room. He practically lives off it at this point. A few other members of Arkham staff, mostly guards, stand around chatting. They don’t talk to him. He made it clear that he did not wish to be talked to when he first arrived.

Continuing his route, Jonathan opens the file to their most recent session. Nothing much was useful from that session because Edward had stopped taking his meds. According to other doctors, sometimes he would refuse to take the medication so he could feel like he was in control of his situation. Jonathan thought grimly of the previous doctor to treat Edward. Pumping a man with his intellect full of cognitive inhibitors was a crime unto itself.

“Hello Mista- er Doctor C!” A loud female voice came at him from down the hall.

He looks up to find one of the newer doctors, Harleen Quinzell, waving at him. He smiles, nods, and continues walking. She falls into step beside him, carrying a file of her own under her arm.

“Where are you off to, Doctor C?” She asks after a few steps of silence.

“I have a session with Nygma.”

She makes a face, sticking out her tongue.

“That nerd again. Bluh,” She shoves her file into his hands. “Check out who Doctor Arkham let me have.”

“Harleen, we both went through vigorous psychiatric training and-“

“I got Joker!” She cuts him off, taking the file back and hugging it to her chest, “I just know that I can get a breakthrough with him, he’s just so, so fascinating.”

Jonathan shoots her a concerned look. He enjoys her company to a point, and would hate to see her become just another of Joker’s victims.

“I know everyone’s said this already but be-“

“Careful,” she chimes in, nodding sagely. “I’m not dumb, you know. I can handle myself.”

“I’m sure you can.” He’s seen her with a taser during lockdown. The sentiment is genuine.

She perks up again, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a standstill.

“You reminded me - taking care of myself and all - that I’ve got something for you.” She walks behind him, grabbing his hair and finger combing it.

Jonathan doesn’t quite know how to react, so he just stands there. Harleen deftly puts his hair up into a ponytail. He’d let it grow out for a while now, not having the time or motivation to get it cut.

“Voila! Now you look a bit more professional. And we have matching hair ties!” Harley pats his shoulder, looking up at him.

“Thank you, Harleen,” he reaches up to touch the ponytail, “That was, very thoughtful of you.”

“See you around, Mista C.” Harleen smiles brightly and walks up to the guards in front of Joker’s cell to begin the entry process.

Jonathan continues walking, checking his watch and touching his pontytail again. It had been a while since someone gave him something just because they felt like it, or given him something at all, really.

Entering Edward Nygma’s cell, Jonathan braces himself for whatever snarky comments he’d bear today.

“Oh goodie, it's the…” Edward’s voice trailed off upon seeing Jonathan’s face. “Stick. Man.” He finished lamely.

“Feeling alright? Your body should be acclimated to the new medication in a day or two.”

Edward cleared his throat, eyes fixed on Jonathan’s face.

“I’m perfectly fine. You changed your hair.”

“Barely. I doubt I’ll keep it like this. A coworker did it for me.”

“They have good taste. Why couldn’t I get them as my psychologist?”

“Enough about my hair. Can we get started?”

“One question, how on earth do you pull it off so well?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is. Not going to be part of anything bigger. I’m working on a big scriddler fic, but that will only be posted once it’s entirely done. It’s midterms why am I doing this. Goodnight.


End file.
